


Dorea Rose Potter-Black and the Fastest Man Alive

by Hockey_Lover31



Series: Female Harry Potter Crossover [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen & Iris West Friendship, Barry Allen & Iris West are Siblings, F/M, Female Harry Potter, I'll tag more when I remember more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:41:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23240395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hockey_Lover31/pseuds/Hockey_Lover31
Summary: When Dorea moved to Central City she never knew about Scarlet Speedstar or Metahumans. Of course, that might also be because she moved to Central City before the Particle Accelerator happened. What happens when Dorea meets Barry Allen before he became the man we know and love. Of course, things are never easy, with metahumans, magicals, and the man that killed Barry's mother, things are looking to become more interesting to Dorea.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Harry Potter, Cecile Horton/Joe West, Eddie Thawne/Iris West
Series: Female Harry Potter Crossover [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1485149
Comments: 22
Kudos: 237





	1. The Initial Meeting

Dorea sighed as she packed the last bag of her clothes. She spent three years as an Auror catching the last of the Death Eaters before finally getting out of the job and finish Muggle Schooling. She surprised herself by cursing through the courses and entering college within that very year. Without Hermione breathing down her neck, Dorea thought she would get behind, but because of hiding out from reporters and their trash of news, Dorea focused solely on schooling and easily got ahead of the subjects.

After finishing the high schooling, she moved onto college and quickly finished degrees in both magical and muggle to be registered as a Muggle Doctor or the magical equivalent, Healer. With her rushing through the classes, now at age 25, she was ready to move on with her life and find somewhere to settle. She knew it wasn't England or Scotland, while there was a lot of good, it was also mixed with too much bad. From her abusive aunt and uncle to Voldemort always trying to kill her and her parents' death being ignored with the fact they marked her as the Girl-Who-Lived instead of thinking her parents might've done something to kill Voldemort.

So, here she was, packing the last of her bags as she got ready to head to Central City in America, a place she already got a part-time job at the local hospital for her time to be split between. She thought about doing Full-time but realized it was perhaps too much stress and hours than she needed at the moment. She didn't know much about America, so being part-time suited her.

Making sure Willow, her House Elf, knew to take the luggage straight to her new house before returning to take care of the manor in England, Dorea grabbed the backpack she made ready for the airplane ride she was taking and exited her house to the cab that was waiting for her. Turning away from the Potter Manor she had been staying at, she said goodbye to her old life and was ready to say hello to her new one.

Spending the flight alternating between sleeping and reading one of her magical books, illusioned to appear as some sort of Muggle Book, Dorea finally exited the plane and found the taxi she called ahead of time ready for her. Giving directions, Dorea felt the beginnings of Jet Lag take her as she left mid-afternoon in England but it was just starting to get dark in Central City. She either had the choice of trying to have caffeine to keep her awake, or she could just go home and hopefully work on her sleep schedule.

Knowing the sleep schedule could take time, she had the taxi detour her toward the closest coffee shop, a place called Jitters. She rolled up the flannel sleeves and slightly adjusted her white top underneath it as she didn't button the flannel shirt earlier, the close quarters of the plane, even in First Class, left her feeling slightly too hot and the anxious feeling of claustrophobia still affecting her even now.

"Here we are, Ma'am," The driver said as he parked his car just outside Jitters. "Did you need me to wait?" he asked.

"Please, I shouldn't take too long, I just need a pick-me-up," she told him as she got out of the vehicle. He nodded and parked his car in place before grabbing his phone to mess around on.

Dorea left the car and made her way inside Jitters, the smell of coffee instantly hitting her nose along with the fresh bakery smells. The mingled smell causing her stomach to growl lightly reminding her she barely ate any food on the plane. She got in the line that had four people in front of her and looked around curiously. The place wasn't that bad, it was designed to be simple, and yet inviting. She knew that if the coffee and food were as good as they smelled, she would have to visit the place again.

Soon enough, it was her turn to order and she ordered a simple Black Coffee, something Sirius hooked her on that started as a joke, but she soon became slightly addicted to, and something called a Bear Claw that looked and sounded good. Stepping aside, Dorea felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and wondered if that was Hermione who said she was going to text if Dorea didn't do it first. As she grabbed her phone, she wasn't looking at where she was going and felt herself collide with another person.

She held her tongue as the burning liquid hit her shirt and she instantly picked up her shift slightly to get the hot liquid from touching her chest and bra. "Oh my god, I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, are you okay?" an out of breath male voice asked in a rushed tone.

Dorea blinked and looked up at the male in front of her, he had chestnut-colored hair that she thought if shined under certain lighting might look red, his light brown eyes wide and looking apologetic that she thought he looked slightly like a kicked-puppy and seemed to be holding his breath like he was expecting some type of reprimand.

"I'm alright, promise. Nothing to worry about," Dorea told him softly as she tried to brush some of the liquid off even though she knows it's settled itself on her shirt.

"Is there anything I can do? Dry cleaning? Do you need napkins? I can get you napkins," he said awkwardly.

Dorea gave him a soft smile, he reminded her slightly of Remus for some reason, with his many apologies and seeming kicked looked he was sporting. "It's okay, you don't have to do anything. I wasn't paying attention either, there is no real harm done, alright?" she asked him.

The boy and he did kinda look like one, she wondered how old he was, nodded dejectedly. "Okay, if you're certain," he said while slightly biting his lips.

It looked like he was going to say something but her name was called for her order and she reluctantly released her shirt and felt the stickiness start to cling to her breasts again. Slightly annoyed by it but knowing not to show it as the boy was still looking sadly at her, Dorea just grabbed the edges of her flannel shirt that somehow survived and buttoned the shirt back up, feeling better now that no one could really see the damage that was done.

Dorea grabbed her food and was about to pass the boy again when he spoke again in a rushed tone. "I still feel really really bad about that, will you please let me make it up to you? Maybe take you out to dinner, I noticed your accent, maybe I could show you around if you're new? I mean, not that I'm assuming your new or that you need help, but I thought I would offer it because it made sense to me. But obviously I'm being creepy and you probably want nothing to do with me,--"

"I don't mind going to get food with you, I am new, maybe you could show me some of the common spots here and good food sights," Dorea interjected into his self-deprecation.

"Oh, okay, um, I can give you my number and you can just tell me when you're free. I'll work around my work schedule from there," he told her as he grabbed a nearby napkin and one of the pens by the cashiers before writing his name on the napkin.

Dorea noted the cashier she talked to look at them with a slightly raised eyebrow and seemed focused on the male in front of her intently, Dorea wondered if she somehow came in some sort of relationship triangle but shrugged it off. If he felt bad and wanted to get her some food, she wasn't going to complain.

"I'm Dorea Potter-Black," Dorea told the boy in front of her, taking the napkin and briefly looking over the number to memorize in her Occumancy shields before carefully putting it into her pocket.

"Um, Barry. Barry Allen," the boy mumbled as Dorea gave him goodbye and made her way back to her driver. On her way out, she noticed the cashier grab Barry's attention with a wide smile and didn't notice the panicked one when the cashier, or Iris West as she would later learn, tell Barry she got a date with her.

What a way to start her first day in Central City.


	2. The Chance Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place, I'd say maybe four months before the Explosion/Coma

The next time they met wasn't for the lunch they had scheduled. Between both their hectic schedules, they had it planned for next week when Dorea met him once more. She had been walking back toward her house, nearly one and a half miles away from her job at the Magical Hospital, at least it does when she doesn't decide to apparate or Floo to her job.

It just happened to be one of the days where it was particularly nice outside and decided to enjoy the fresh air that surrounded the pathway home. It was during this walk that she had the unfortunate encounter with a man that held a knife.

"Give me your wallet and don't make a sound," he threatened.

Dorea raised an unimpressed eye at the shakiness of the hand holding the knife, the wild-eyed look, and the deep circles under his eyes already telling her that he was a drug addict that probably needed more money for drugs. While she had no qualms over giving money to the homeless, she had enough money for fifteen lifetimes that wouldn't make a dent in her fortune, but she hated those who threatened others. Others that wouldn't be as prepared or defense-trained as her.

Her magic swirled inside her, ready to react with just a simple command. Wandless magic having come much easier after she spent a year of her Healer Training in Africa with a tribe that specialized in wandless magic. Calming her magic and stroking it and feeling it purr like a cat, Dorea palmed her pocket and took out her wallet. Holding it in her palm, she waited for the moment to act.

As soon as his hand was trying to grab the wallet from her own, she stepped closer and struck like a snake, her knee coming up into his groin fast and hard and during the motion, then brought her elbow up to hit him in the middle of the face. Taking a moment to step back as she watched him in pain and grip the knife tighter, she reached her arm back and slammed her fist into his nose and heard a resounding crack echo through the abandoned street since it was past eight at night. Hearing his agony as he clutched his broken nose, she toed the knife on the ground and kicked it toward the alleyway dumpster nearby, hoping he was too blinded by pain to really search for his weapon of choice.

Palming her wallet once more, she reached into her other pocket and grabbed her phone.

"911 what's your emergency?" the person on the other end asked calmly.

"I was just held at knife-point by a mugger that wanted my wallet," Dorea said calmly as she fixed her shirt slightly and kept an eye on the hurt mugger.

"What's your location? I can have the police dispatched immediately," The woman said with slight urgency.

"Probably an ambulance too," Dorea commented after she listed the address she was at, knowing the streets to head home by heart and the distance they are from her hospital which looked like an old warehouse that no one seemed to want to adventure into.

"Are you hurt, Miss, can you list what's wrong?" the woman asked, the urgency higher now than before.

"Oh, not for me, for the mugger. I was trained in defense," Dorea explained calmly and rolled her eyes at the man that continued to cry out in pain.

There was shocked silence until she heard the sirens in the distance. It wasn't too long till the detectives handcuffed the perk to the gurney the paramedics had and one of the two officers that arrived went with him. Which left her with one Detective West. "Do you mind coming by the station to get your full report? Better sooner than later, we don't want to leave anything out," West asked kindly as they watched the ambulance drive away.

Dorea shrugged but nodded. She wasn't doing anything tonight and had the morning off since she worked overtime for the past two weeks, often taking the night shifts. Her sleep schedule was already screwed up because of the Dragon Pox outbreak they had received. She rode with him since she never actually bought a car and they talked briefly about what she had been doing before the man attacked her, the tone calm and sincere as the Detective seemed interested in her profession.

When they finally got the station, Dorea was impressed by how it looked. She expected many cramped stations together, which there were in all honesty, but it seemed almost more homely than anything else. Compared to the police station inside the Ministry, this one seemed more welcoming and calming, asking you to tell you the truth while making sure you knew there were people that cared. 

Detective West had ended up getting her a cup of coffee and they both connected in their love for Black Coffee before getting back to the situation at hand. Dorea told him all that she knew and saw from the young man that attacked her. "Is he going to be okay?" Dorea asked as she set aside her half-empty cup of coffee.

"What do you mean?" the Detective asked.

"He didn't seem to want to hold me at knife-point. I think he was going through withdrawal and, well, I'm sure you know how some addicts get. Will he get the help he needs?" Dorea asked as she leaned forward, wondering what this side of the pond does for drug addicts.

The Detective sat for a few seconds, seeming to collect his thoughts before admitting, "Well, I suppose that's on you. I had assumed you had wanted to press charged. He would've been tried and probably set on probation depending on if this is his first go-around. There he would either get clean or find another source of drugs from within the jail."

Dorea bit her lips. The system was certainly better than the one at the Ministry where they had the mentality that no matter what wrong you did, you just went to Azkaban. No probation, no treatment without Dementors, just Azkaban, and their Dementors. It was no wonder that anyone sent there would come out a changed person, generally for the worse. Even Sirius, an innocent man sent to prison, had changed. His Black Insanity showed far more than before.

"If he does get probation, is there any way to make sure he undergoes a Program?"

"I suppose he could if the state paid for it, which I admit doesn't really happen," West told her, looking slightly ashamed at the system.

"And if I paid for it?" she asked and met his stare head-on.

He stayed silent for a few minutes. "Then I suppose it could be part of his probation. Making sure he goes. Are you sure you want to do that?" West asked her.

She was about to respond when a familiar voice called out in confusion, "Dorea?"

Turning to see who spoke, Dorea felt a smile creep up as she met the stare of one Barry Allen. They hadn't talked much, beyond working around their schedules for the food that he promised her, their talks generally short as neither knew what to really talk about over the phone. But through time, Dorea did feel like Barry Allen could be a friend of hers, she reminded him of an early Neville. All awkward and clumsy but having a good heart and, once you do become friends, a talkative marathon.

"Barry," Dorea commented, her tone pleased at seeing him even as she ignored the surprised tensing Detective West had done at the news they knew each other, "What are you doing here?" Dorea asked in slight confusion.

"I work here, as a CSI," Barry told her with that awkward smile of his, his right hand reaching up to rub the back of his head as he realized he never told her his job. "What about you, what are you doing here?" she asked, suddenly concerned as he knew she had been busy for the night along with himself.

"Ms.Black here nearly mugged walking home from her job," West said, giving a look toward Barry that Dorea didn't quite know other than what _ haven't you told me  _ look.

"Are you okay?" Barry asked concernedly as he moved toward her, his eyes eyeing her up and down to see if she was in any way hurt or in pain.

"Oh, you should've seen the other guy," Dorea commented offhandedly and felt her skin crawl with the scrutinizing Barry was giving her. No one but the Weasley's and Sirius had even shown care toward her before. Certainly not the Dursley's who would rather starve and beat her, or Hogwarts who'd rather just gossip about her rather than actually help or worry about her.

Barry tore his eyes away from Dorea, suddenly aware of just how beautiful she was, and looked toward Joe in confusion who seemed almost amused by their interaction. "The mugger has a bruised ego, forehead, and a broken nose from Ms.Black here," Joe informed Barry.

Looking wide-eyed at Dorea and tucking away the information that she clearly knew some form of defense, he gave her a grin. "I'm happy you're okay," he told her before turning to Joe, "I finished up the papers early and anything that's being tested won't come back till the morning. Can I head home?" Barry asked.

Joe waved him off and moved away from the table he and Dorea had been talking at and moved toward his desk, taking his coffee with him. Dorea and Barry eyed each other before Dorea gave him a soft smile. "I know an all-night Ice Cream store nearby, did you want to get some?" she asked with a shy smile.

Barry gave his own soft smile and nodded. "Lead the way," he asked as he moved to let her pass him.

That was the start of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I have never called 911 and have no idea how they actually handle these types of situations


	3. The Accelerator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast-forwarding a few months. Also, slightly spoilers for those who are new to Supernatural and Doctor Who and have not watched all episodes to their heart's content, and then more.

"I'm just saying, Doctor Who is better than Supernatural," Dorea told Barry as she slurped from the slushie she currently had in her left hand.

It was one of the few days they seemed to both have off, Barry rushing through his work to make sure he didn't have to do any paperwork at home and even going as far as making sure they should only call him as a second resort in an emergency. Dorea herself had made sure to let the hospital know she could be on call but preferred not to be called in. On the roster of Doctor on Call for an emergency, she was roughly fifth on the list out of seven.

"Blasphemy!" Shouted Barry in mock horror. "Supernatural has more emotion in it than Doctor Who! Clearly you've never watched the episode where Jack dies," Barry pointed out.

"Need I point out Amy and Rory's death? The heartbreak that was filled with it, or even Missy's death! The Doctor didn't even know she was still with him till the end," Dorea argued.

"Please, Charlie's death was definitely the most emotional out of either show."

Dorea rolled her eyes as she shook her blue raspberry slushie to try and get it to shift just enough to not get stuck in her straw. "I don't know, the heartbreak when a watcher realizes that they watched River Song die to live is pretty evil. Especially when you get to the episode where we have our final goodbye because we know what's coming to happen to her but can't warn her or anything. Just watch as she is about to head on her last adventure. Combing that with rewatching the episode where she dies...it's an evil thing to do," Dorea pointed out and Barry weighed all the deaths in both shows before nodding.

"Charlie and River Song's death most impactful, agreed?" he asked as he sipped the last bit of cherry out of his own slushie.

Dorea narrowed her eyes before nodding shortly after. "Agreed."

They both tossed their empty drinks and headed toward the next ride of the amusement park they were currently in. After Barry had figured out Dorea never went to one they had scheduled weeks in advance to attend the one that came to Central City. They had currently ridden a majority of the rides in the two and a half hours they've been there, but we're taking a small break for some food and drinks which Barry paid for since Dorea paid for the all-day pass they had and the wristband that allowed them on all the rides.

"Which one next?" Dorea asked with a smile, surprising herself with the fact she was having a lot of fun. Having never attended one and only hearing them from Dudley, she had been apprehensive about the place until Barry started showing her around. Many of the rides made her think of flying but in a weird way, so she surprised herself with how much fun she was having.

"Well, we only have the actual money games to do which we'd have to be careful with since they make it harder to win anything so they can take your money. Plus, any prizes we get, we don't know where to put them. Is there any ride you'd like to go on again? Even a few more times?" Barry asked with a smile.

"Bumper cars a few more times maybe, the Swing Boat, Gravitron is a must, that made me so dizzy in seconds and sliding up the side was awesome, oh and the Mechanical Bull too," Dorea said as she thought about the rides she had a blast on. Admittedly, she did enjoy almost all of them especially anything fast, and making her feel like she's flying were her favorites.

Barry gave her a giddy smile. "Sounds like a plan." With that, they spent the rest of their day doing the rides a few more times before ending the game by doing some of the Money Games, leaving Dorea with a Medium-sized Pikachu that had a detective hat on, two goldfish, a pair of googly eyeglasses, a Baby Shark backpack that she had plans to give for Teddy, and an overly-large stuffed brown dog that she knew Teddy would love and Andy would probably curse her for getting her godson.

All in all, she and Barry had a blast on their off day.

* * *

"So, why are you going to Starling City again?" Dorea asked as she flopped onto Barry's bed in his apartment. Since becoming friends nearly six months ago, Dorea had finally let her walls down enough to just go to his apartment and flop on his bed while he was doing other stuff.

It didn't happen often, with both their hectic schedules it's a miracle if they're in the same place for more than an hour unless they schedule it roughly a month in advance almost.

Barry was quiet for a second, and then a minute. Dorea moved from lying down to sitting crisscrossed on his bed looking concerned at her friend that seemed like he was torn with himself. Finally, he let out a sigh and sat at the other edge of the bed. "I want you to keep an open mind and listen. Can you do that?" he asked subduedly.

Now more concerned but knowing better than to talk and stop his train of thought, she gave him a nod and tried for a reassuring smile.

"To understand what I'm about to tell you, you need to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible, can you do that?" Barry asked her looking not at all reassured.

Wondering where this conversation was going and feeling her magic swirl in her chest, feeling anxious and ready to make her disappear in a thought, Dorea nodded to Barry.

"When I was 11, one night I went downstairs and there was this red and yellow lightning blurring all around my mom. I don't know what happened but I suddenly blocked down from my house still in my pajamas. I raced back home and when I got there...my mom had been killed and the police were arresting my dad. I know he didn't do it, he was holding my back from the blurs since he also heard the commotion of my mom yelling out. I don't know what killed my mom, but it was the impossible, and if I can just find one case, maybe I can get my dad out of jail for something he didn't do," Barry said as he seemed to withdraw back to himself like he was expecting a certain reaction and was bracing for it.

Dorea's chest felt constricted. She debated, for a moment, to tell him the truth about her. But what he described sounded nothing like any spell she knew or even heard of. Certainly had Death Eaters or Tom Riddle knew of such spell, he would've easily used it to win the war. Something moving as fast that you can't even see it, just a blur. She mentally shook her head and took Barry's hand. "I believe you," she said softly and watched as his face twisted into shock and looked at her with such hope that it made her heart throb as she wondered how many times he told people only for them to say he was a liar or that he was trying to cover up the trauma of his mother's death.

The anger in her chest resonated through her body and she unintentionally clenched the hand in his and shook off the anger as she focused on him, and only him. "I know I'm too young to know many things by a lot of people's standards, that's someone our age doesn't understand the world that we live in, but I have seen things, Barry. Things that are impossible to explain to normal people. So, I will believe you even when you might doubt yourself, do you want to know why?" Dorea asked kindly.

Barry nodded his head softly, his expression still in shock even as the tension in his shoulders relaxed, and his eyes slowly started to become watery to more Dorea talked about believing him. She placed the hand not clenched with Barry's on his heart. "You have a good heart, Barry, and someone with that hates lying. You have had this story for over fourteen years, I believe you when you say you saw something impossible," Dorea passionately said and tried to make him see that she believed him, believed in the impossible. "Never lose that spark, Barry, no matter what people say, so long as you know it's true, that's all that matters. Never let anyone taint your good heart," Dorea said with a watery smile as the need to tell Barry her magic became smaller. Now was not the time, he would get lost in asking her if what he saw was magic and until she looked into it herself, she wouldn't give him the destructive thing called hope just yet. She's heard of weird things becoming normal in the world, the vigilante of Starling City was one and rumors of a bat in Gotham was slowly becoming more and more news even outside of Gotham.

She had to remind herself to reach out to the Magical Community in Starling City for more news and the one near Gotham. Gotham being a No-Magical zone because of all the crime there were results of too many obligations, the community literally had to get and move because the minds there were slowly being destroyed by the constant obligation and causing neuro-damage in those without magic.

It turned the city into chaos, the ones that had their mind obliviated too often. Especially since they seem to love crime and had no regret in harming even magical that would respond with defending themselves. Since the secret of magic wasn't to be known, well...it turned Gotham into a No-Mag Site, so far the only one in existence, though a few like Metropolis are slowly turning into those states as well, especially with the latest generation and her own having the ideals that they shouldn't wait to the side while someone is in danger. Not particularly something Dorea is going to regret any time soon no matter what the news might say about it.

"Just..remember to text me. With the Vigilante there, I want to make sure you're still alive. We do have to see that accelerator after all," Dorea teased Barry, it was all he's talked about for nearly the past month.

Accelerator this, accelerator that. Harrison Wells this, Harrison Wells that. Honestly, if Dorea didn't know Barry wasn't gay, she would've assumed Barry had a full-on crush on the guy. It turns out it's just a science crush, not a romantic one. Shame.

"I will, promise," Barry said with that goofy smile of his, seeming to finally relax from his tense state from the start of their conversation.

Pleased with the fact that her friend was more-than-likely going to keep the promise, they talked a little bit more before finally going out to an early dinner before Barry headed off. Well, not dinner really, it was the ice-cream place that Dorea introduced Barry to after the attempted-mugging. It became apart of their tradition almost, any time they hung out to maybe get some.

Dorea saying it was fine mostly because she actually does have a workout routine for herself, often running in the mornings around seven in the morning, or if she had a night-shift two in the evening. That doesn't even count the magic routine she goes through to keep her magic sharp and not declining as many wizards go through if they aren't in a grueling career or become lax in their magic after school. It was like a muscle, in that regard, needs constant routine or it becomes messed up with age. At this point, many spells are just muscle-memory for her magic, a good thing when she was in a war, but not quite good if she just gets startled by a random pedestrian.

It took a lot of work to control her magic to not react whenever she gets started, and she's quite proud of herself for it. Many spells just needing a slight probe of her inner magic to react, no movement, no words needed. It takes more control whenever she's in a crowd like she and Barry are, the ice-cream shop was popular enough to gain attraction, but not always the busiest on nonweekend days.

"Will you make it back in time for the accelerator?" Dorea asked casually and stuffed her hands in her coat pocket.

It wasn't cold per se, but after years of twirling her wand whenever she was lost in thought or concentrating, the lack of something to twirl made her hands almost antsy, the loose fabric in the coat providing enough twirl factor for her fingers to keep busy. She tried to push down the social awkwardness she sometimes gets with people, her meeting Luna was probably the worst because no one can prepare for a Luna in their lives.

"I should be...I hope to be," Barry said after correcting himself as he fiddled with the satchel on his shoulder and a case following him that she knew contained his CSI items that he had begged the police station to let him have his own case for when he gets called out. As head of CSI at age of 24 with a baby-face to match, he did end up getting his own case to take with him and use.

They stopped in front of the train to Starling City. Dorea slightly nervous since a few months ago the city had undergone a massive earthquake from one Malcome Merlyn that ended with his own son's death not that long ago. "Just...be careful. Yeah," Dorea said with a hesitant smile.

Barry gave his own back before making sure the case was steady before opening his arms. Dorea took the invitation as it was and wrapped her arms around Barry.

She can count the number of people that's given her hugs on two hands and still have like two extra fingers left that were slowly being taken over by one Barry Allen. It seemed Barry was like Mrs.Weasley in a sense and loved hugs. Which worked out for Dorea, being touch-starved herself from her abusive relatives.

Though, Mrs.Weasley saw her first hesitance in the hug and distanced herself from them slightly, knowing that some people don't like to be touched and kept their interactions more friendly based, which Dorea loved, don't get her wrong. She had admitted to Sirius one day when she stayed with him that she found her hugs suffocating in a way and couldn't really stand them.

Barry's hugs though reminded her of Sirius. All gentle and loving, while pressing but not restricting. She always thought Sirius' hugs were special, something that maybe her parents would've been like had she remembered the hugs they gave her as a baby. But Dorea would admit to herself, that just as she was addicted to hugging Sirius or cuddling with the man she thought of as a father, Barry's hugs were...special. She fell in love with them but too afraid to ask him for more.

Good thing Barry loved cuddling just as Dorea seems to.

"Just come back in one peace," she muttered into his shoulder and could practically feel the smile that was probably etching itself in the top of her head.

"I will," Barry muttered and let go, lest he misses the train.

* * *

When she learned that Barry missed the train, she admitted to being concerned and tried to call him...only he didn't answer. Frowning at her phone and trying to shove the panic inside herself at the idea one of her friends might be in danger, especially in a place like Starling City. Though, she admitted to herself that it was only two in the morning, having just gotten off her night shift and heading home.

Feeling exhausted and knowing there wasn't going to be any trains to Starling anytime soon, Dorea made a mental note to call Barry when she woke up and see what the deal was and if he was going to be on time to see the accelerator, especially since she knew his leave was up today and would have to go back to work by tomorrow, the same day the accelerator was turned on.

Thankfully, by noon the next day, having awoken around that time, Barry did answer his phone this time, seemingly distracted by something in the distance that at first sounded like a female voice.

"Dorea?" Barry asked, she could hear the grin in his voice and a woman in the background asking who he had answered.

Feeling her heart constrict and pushing the feeling aside, Dorea felt the relief flow through her. "Barry, thank Merlin! You didn't answer your phone last night, which you said you would since, you know, your train back was around then. I got worried," Dorea frazzled out.

"Oh right! Sorry, I forgot to call you. I missed my train," Barry told her, his voice having that embarrassed tone that she knew his face was probably reflecting along with the unused hand carding through his hair. She knew his traits well. "and a friend I made here let me stay. Sorry for not calling you and making you worried."

Dorea felt tension release slightly. Barry could never hide anything for long, much less over the phone where he wore his emotions on his sleeve. She knew the woman she heard over the phone really was just a friend he had made. "No worries, Barry. I'm just really happy your safe, will you be able to make it back for the accelerator?"

"Uh, hopefully. So long as I don't miss my train for tonight. I'm just finishing some testing and then should hopefully be able to make it back to Central City before my shift tomorrow," Barry said and she heard a small clank in the background as if he had just pulled a tube out of something, probably a centrifuge if she had to guess but where he was with a centrifuge she didn't know.

"How did that case go? Did you find any of the answers you were looking for?" Dorea asked as she waited for her recently-bought coffee machine to finish, still feeling groggy from just waking up.

"I got some answers and some more questions I suppose, but it's about to be wrapped up," Barry told her and started rambling about some of the things he's noticed in Starling City.

Of course, she refrained from pointing out to him he didn't seem to go in-depth to the new friends he made, where he went dancing to, or just exactly what or who he was investigating. But she understood that perhaps he wasn't used to sharing that information with someone without them judging him. So she let the subject in her mind drop and just smiled for her friend who seemed extremely happy.

* * *

By the time Barry had come back to Central City, it was daytime and his only sleep was via the train ride back where he had to rush to the location he had gotten called to since that morning he had a shift. Of course, he didn't tell the Captain he had just gotten in, he was already late as it was, the excuse for missing the train or the train being delayed could only go so far. Especially since he knew it wouldn't help much. So while Barry fumbled his way through the day, Dorea was having a much calmer one as she relaxed at home with a nice hot cup of cocoa and talking and Andy through the phone she made her buy, discussing plans for the future especially for Teddy.

It wasn't until after Barry's shift that he was free to watch the Particle Accelerator with Iris and Dorea, the first time they get to meet each other officially (they met unofficially during Barry's birthday two weeks ago where they both seemed to have the same idea of breaking into Barry's place and doing something nice for him, they both agreed that didn't count as a first meeting though), and Dorea was rocking on the balls of her feet as Barry and Iris finally left the police station.

"Thank Merlin, I thought you had gotten lost or something. Would've hated to do a Missing Persons Report for you," Dorea said with a joking grin on her face.

Iris shared Dorea's smirk and turned to Barry, "Yeah, Barry, I mean what would your co-workers think. Your girlfriend has to do a missing report just to find you," Iris teased as Barry's eyes seemingly widen in shock.

"What! No! She's not-we're not. Iris!" Barry shouted in mortification as Dorea cackled in front of the duo and Iris smirked at having done her job as Barry's sister to embarrass him.

"Oh I like you," Dorea said as she and Iris linked arms together and suddenly started talking about any embarrassing moment about Barry the two seemly witnessed.

Barry had a feeling he was going to regret the day the two of them became friends.

Everything regarding the particle would've gone fine had Iris' laptop not gotten stolen, Barry trying to play hero and ending up getting a hurt nose over it, and the fact that Iris and Dorea were talking about Detective Pretty Boy. Oh, and of course Barry getting struck by lightning in his lab while being thrown into the chemicals that exist in said lab and ending up in a coma.


End file.
